Organizations serving children, teens, and students face a rapidly evolving landscape of AI, privacy, online safety, and age-appropriate design requirements. As laws and regulations develop across jurisdictions and technologies continue to evolve, the Hintze Kids + Teens Group provides practical, strategic, and solution-oriented guidance to help organizations navigate complex requirements, manage risk, and support responsible innovation.

Hintze works with multinational clients across AI, online gaming, ed tech, music and video streaming, sports, wellness, fintech, media and publishing, retail, social media, mobile, advertising, biometrics, and SaaS.

Our Capabilities

Regulatory Matters Involving Minor Data.

We have extensive experience responding to inquiries and investigations involving child and teen data and online safety from the FTC, state Attorneys General, and international data protection authorities, as well as managing compliance with consent decrees and settlement agreements. Our past expertise in FTC Section 5 & 6(b) & state AG, COPPA, children and teen privacy investigations include:

• COPPA investigation by the FTC into practices of OpenFeint, Inc. (closed successfully)
• U.S. v. Musical.ly, Inc. (now TikTok) – FTC COPPA investigation and ongoing order compliance
• Byte Dance (TikTok) in an investigation by the FTC seeking data about privacy practices of the social media and video streaming industry
• a mobile app gaming companies in FTC CID COPPA investigations
• a robot toy company in an FTC CID COPPA investigation
• a mobile ad company in a New Mexico state AG COPPA investigation
• a mobile ad company in a California state AG COPPA investigation
• a sports technology company in a California state AG COPPA investigation

Children & Teen AI, Privacy, and Online Safety Compliance

Hintze helps organizations navigate Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), state and international privacy laws, online safety requirements, and age-appropriate design codes (AADC). Guidance covers parental consent and privacy notices, age gating and age assurance, content controls and monitoring, minor and parental rights, advertising and profiling restrictions, and other requirements affecting children and teen data.

Online Safety & Platform Practices

As online safety requirements continue to evolve, Hintze helps organizations evaluate and strengthen practices related to content controls, monitoring, personalization, advertising, and other platform features involving children and teens.

Student Privacy & FERPA

Educational technology companies and other organizations handling student information turn to Hintze for guidance on Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other educational privacy requirements. The group also helps assess privacy and online safety considerations associated with AI and other emerging technologies used in educational environments.

AI Governance & Responsible Design

Hintze works with organizations developing or deploying AI products, services, and features involving children, teens, students, and families. Counsel addresses legal and regulatory requirements, governance programs, policies, training, and other safeguards, including risks associated with generative AI content and outputs, AI companions and chatbots, recommendation and personalization engines, potentially addictive feeds, and the use of minor data to train AI models.

Risk Assessments

Organizations use Hintze’s risk assessment experience to evaluate AI systems, products, and data practices against COPPA, age-appropriate design codes, FERPA, and other U.S. and international laws and self -regulatory organization standards governing children’s, teens’, and students’ data.

Third-Party Platform & Developer Requirements

For companies developing products and services across connected platforms, Hintze provides guidance on child and teen privacy requirements applicable to third-party developers. This includes requirements associated with mobile operating systems, streaming devices, personal assistants, gaming consoles, and social media platforms.

Vendor Compliance & Risk Management

Hintze supports organizations evaluating vendors and other third parties that handle children, teen, or student data. This work includes privacy and safety due diligence, contract review and negotiation, and ongoing compliance auditing.

*Results not necessarily indicative of those that can be obtained for similar clients with different factual and legal circumstances.